Advent begins tomorrow
It is the last day of the Christian Year today, and the beginning of the Christian Year
begins tomorrow with Advent I, when we begin the season of expectation,
of waiting for Christmas - for the coming of Jesus. The readings of the next
four weeks will bring us into the heart of the prophetic vision from the
Hebrew Scriptures of awaiting the Messiah and also the stories that preceded
Jesus' Birth.
For us, this season of Advent is all too easily eclipsed by the rush to Christmas
in the culture all around us. As a child, we would usually buy our Christmas tree
just before Christmas, and we spent time in Advent lighting the four candles of the
Advent Wreath. As a child, the waiting was, of course, for the gifts and magic of
Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but the waiting did move us into a
mindset of expectation of the "not yet" of waiting for Jesus' coming.
This mindset of expectation is one that we can cultivate as we move into the
season of Advent. Considering the figures of Mary, as she lived in the tangible
expectation of a child to be born, and the figure of John the Baptist who lived in
tangible expectation for the Messiah who would baptize with fire, not with water.
I wish you a "Happy New Years Eve" tonight and a blessed Advent,
may you take the time to consider, ponder, and sit deeply in the mindset of
expectation.
Below you can find links to our Online worship tomorrow, as well as a link to
my Daily Advent Reflections blog, and also ways to worship with the
Diocese in this Advent and Christmas Season.
Advent Blessings to you!
Sunday
29 November 2020 ~ 10am ~ Online
Service of Morning Prayer for Advent 1 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
On our Church’s YouTube channel, click HERE
The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the
armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ
came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again
in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the
life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Music for Thanksgiving
Our organist, Jonathan Stark, is working to find ways to share music online
from our nave, using our beautiful organ. He was able to record some outstanding
music for Thanksgiving, which I recommend to you all! Click on the link below
to enjoy his artistry! We will be posting Advent and Christmas music in upcoming
weeks.
Daily Advent Reflections by The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Click HERE to read scripture for the day, and a brief reflection on the reading
and on our season of Advent. adventstmarys.blogspot.com
Join the Diocese for Advent and Christmas, from Home
We are bringing Advent and Christmas to you, at home.
Advent: Bishop Gutiérrez returns to CBS - KYW for Advent services starting
tomorrow, 11/29. You can watch at 5:30 a.m. online or on your television;
or tune in for the rebroadcast at 9:00 a.m. on our One Love Channel, Facebook
or YouTube channels.
All services are filmed from The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas
and include youth readers and some singers from the church as well.
The first rector of this historic parish, the Rev. Absalom Jones, was also
the first black Episcopal priest in the nation.
Christmas Lesson and Carols: On 12/19 at 10 a.m., as part of its covenant
with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the diocese has organized a live
Christmas Lessons and Carols service broadcast simultaneously from
Philadelphia and Bethlehem on our One Love and YouTube channels.
A joint Episcopal and Lutheran service - officiated by all five Episcopal and
Lutheran bishops in Southeast Pennsylvania and Jerusalem - this simulcast
service connects us to our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land, hearing
familiar carols and readings in both Arabic and English, and with a special
Christmas homily from the Archbishop of Jerusalem.
Christmas Day: On Christmas day, 12/25, our service heads to The
Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square, the birthplace of the hymn
"O Little Town of Bethlehem," on the CW-Philly at 6:00 a.m., where their youth
will also lead the readings.
This service is rebroadcast on all of our channels at 8:00 a.m.
